


Muse

by Yeah_JSmith



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Bill Cipher Doesn't Understand Humans, Bill Cipher is a Jerk, Ford Pines Has Issues, Gen, Internal Monologue, Manipulative Bill Cipher, Megalomania, POV Bill Cipher, Young Ford Pines, why am i like this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:40:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23507776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yeah_JSmith/pseuds/Yeah_JSmith
Summary: Within the first few seconds of observation he's got a thorough sense of this silly little scientist. Mortals are uncomplicated, especially the academics. The complex on this one can probably amuse the demon long enough to tolerate working through him, and after that, who knows? He's got the right temperament to be a pet, but meatsacks are usually boring, so the Lord of Nightmares will probably just kill him.
Relationships: Bill Cipher & Ford Pines
Kudos: 23





	Muse

**Author's Note:**

> Jael: I should write more Stan!  
> Jael: Or I could write about Bill Cipher, who is unpleasant and unlikeable and kind of horrifying.  
> Jael: #2, please.

What you do is not sleep. There is no  _ sleep,  _ exactly, in this dimension that you rule; instead, you immerse yourself in delectable chaos for stretches, allowing every thought to run together until you think nothing at all. Even time is only conceptual here, but that got boring after the first few variable stretches. Your subjects resent you as much as they love you — “liberation” is what you call it, but some of them might describe it as “being forcibly ripped apart and remade in the image of whatever you thought might be the most fun at the time,” and since you’re honestly the benevolent sort of overlord, you don’t kill them for the misconception — but they’re all restless with anticipation regardless of how they feel about their leader. You promised them a new dimension to conquer, the ultimate freedom, but mortal forces locked you in here.

This dimension, the Nightmare Realm, is decaying. You’re all aware to some degree or another. The sweet stench of it is undeniable, and as much as you all pretend the sky swirls like that because it’s what you want, it’s just another sign of the slow unraveling of this reality. That’s what the sealing curse was designed to  _ do,  _ after all.

But you are still the leader of this entire dimension for a reason. You’re not necessarily more powerful than your cohort (though you are more powerful than the majority of them), but you  _ are  _ smarter about it. You know how to siphon off the decay, to slow it by converting it to chaos energy that you can use, and most importantly, you’re the only one with the ability to travel between dimensions. All it takes is someone saying the right words, which you managed to spread through time and space before the sealing curse took hold.

_ And there it is. _

An undeniable pull, a tug on the deep part of you that never had a form in the first place. You allow it to bring you into a dream world (and how  _ predictable  _ this is, a vast stretch of galaxy filled with books and equations). The clues you planted would only interest people who  _ want answers,  _ so you’re not worried about resistance to your goals, and when you peek into his subconscious…

Oh, this is  _ precious.  _ You could feed on this ego for decades, trap him in an endless loop of inflation and eagerness. Abusive parents — he’s desperate for a mentor. Desire for female companionship and a family who doesn’t see him as just another mealticket — you can show him visions of a wife and kids. He has many,  _ many  _ weaknesses, but aside from the ego and the thirst for power — academic types always call it knowledge, but knowledge is power, and the kind of answers you can provide only fuel that sense of superiority — it’s that other meatsack in his mind who’ll cause the most pain. You tuck away the names  _ Sixer  _ and  _ Fordsy  _ for later use. You and the brother are similar enough in temperament that when you dote on Stanford Pines using Stanley’s nicknames, he’ll be  _ yours.  _ What a perfect, malleable puppet.

If he’s not entirely broken by the time he finishes building your portal, you might keep him as a pet. It’ll be fun to see what he might do with a little of your power. Get drunk on stardust? Make himself into a god on a distant planet? Curl up docile and plaintive, awaiting orders?  _ Beg?  _ Most likely, you’ll already be bored of him, and you’ll just give him to your subjects. Let them do what they like. Pyronica will probably eat him, if Keyhole doesn’t get to him first.

But before all that, you have to play nice. Ease him into place. Gain his trust. Seduce him, in the guise of a Muse. Stanford Filbrick Pines, who seems to be calling himself Stan at the moment, wouldn’t know a seduction if it bit him in the face, so all you need to do is shift his mindscape and let him notice you.

_ HIYA, SMART GUY! _

Stan Pines will break this world for you and thank you for the opportunity.

**Author's Note:**

> We find out in _Dreamscaperers_ that Ford was calling himself Stan when he worked with Bill, so that's reflected here, just in case it wasn't totally clear.
> 
> I'm using the word "seduction" in the general sense of conning someone into liking/loving/worshiping you, not in the romantic sense. If I shipped Ford with anybody (which I don't), it wouldn't be freaking Bill Cipher. Yikes.


End file.
